I must be missing something obvious, but I cannot get my relays In my block control system to work.
To review, i have created a loop with 8 isolated blocks. The relays are 12 VDC and get power from a standalone DC power source at 12v. AC is from two ZWs that are in phase and thanks to good advice here I have added circuit breakers and TVS. Otherwise, all my equipment is post war
I have checked whether the relays work by connecting them directly to the + and - of the DC power source - all good. I checked that each relay is getting power from the source - yes
I then put a car in a block, and checked whether indeed the axles are creating a link between the ground and control rails. I connect the control rail wire to negative post of the relay and nothing happens. It should complete the circuit and activate the relay, righty?
As a further test, I took my volt meter and ran it from an AC post at 15 vac to the control wire and got a good circuit.
What am I missing? I thought AC and DC could use the same common?
Thanks all
